We arrived at the Vietnamese/Cambodian border only two hours after leaving HCM city with our visas already in the bag, thanks to the e-visa service provided by the Cambodian government. No mans land was a 100m stretch of ground with a building on each side, the Cambodian one looking far grander and regal than the Vietnamese one…..1- 0 to Cambodia in the “I have a better border crossing than you” competition.
As we entered the Cambodian border building, we showed our e-visa to our bus conductor (and all round bus steward) and he showed us to the special e-visa desk, essentially a desk in the corner with a PC at it and a little plastic e-visa sign. The guard looked at the paperwork and with a look of contempt, switched on the PC. After a few minutes the guard announced “No internet, please wait!”
After many furtive conversations between the guards, general pointing in our direction and a long time with him on a mobile phone, he came out and asked us to wait some more because he could not contact anyone to approve the paperwork. At this point, with all the other passengers sat patiently on the bus having already successfully traversed the border, the bus conductor then asked us if it was OK to let the bus go on to its rest stop (that was not far from the boarder). He explained that as the bus was on a tight schedule it could not wait for us. Obviously seeing our panicked looks, he quickly added that he would wait with us!
Eventually, the guy again emerged from his office to tell us that he could not contact anyone to confirm the e-visa and that we could not use them to enter the country. And what a surprise, our only option was to buy another visa at another $50. Ironically, the e-visa system was put in to prevent corruption at the border crossings and overcharging!!
After more messing around and $50 lighter we finally had our visas (well two actually) but no bus. As we were whisked outside by our bus conductor he quickly marshalled three motorbikes and before we knew it we were speeding up the road, hanging on for dear life much like we were fleeing from an illegal boarder crossing. Thankfully, the bus wasn’t delayed by our incident and we continued on with no further drama.
Its funny how an imaginary line on a map can have such a dramatic affect on the landscape, architecture and even the look and colour of the skin of the locals. We were definitely in a new country.
An hour further up the road took us to the banks of the Mekong river and to a flat bed ferry that would transport us across the narrowest bit. As we got off the bus to take in the view, a local thrust a silver platter piled high with some tasty treats and asked the immortal words “You want to buy?” As I perused the goods on offer, it took me some seconds to work out that the tasty treats were in fact BBQ locusts which had an un-canny likeness to Minstrels (but with legs). Needless to say, I declined the kind offer but I would imagine that similar to Minstrels they would have the same hard crunchy exterior and the melt in the mouth centre!
On a high after our successful navigation by Iphone in Nha Trang, we had a plan B just in case our hostel did not come and pick us up as they were supposed to. Map at the ready and plotting our course as we entered Siem Reap we realised that a walk was certainly out of the question due to the distance to our hostel and the fact there were no street lights in this part of the city. Thankfully, as we pulled into the stop, we saw our names on a piece of paper held by a friendly looking man stood next to a motorbike with a trailer (their version of a Tuk Tuk). Watching the map on the Iphone the driver took us in a completely different direction to where we thought the hostel was and after a 15 minute drive we arrived at the correct hostel but miles away from our destination according to the map. It just goes to show that technology can sometimes only take you so far. Thank heavens we were collected!
Siem Reap feels much more isolated from other major conurbations compared to everywhere else we have been, but it’s the centre of Cambodia’s tourist trade and you can see this from the large expensive hotels that have been built. The centre is fairly small with loads of bars and restaurants to satisfy the growing numbers of tourists.
Cambodia has its own currency but due to it being very unstable anything more expensive than a can of coke is in dollars and this includes the money dispensed from the ATM‘s. Also, for the first time on our trip we now have to take the malaria risk far more seriously and therefore decided on three deterrents - Malaria pills, 50% Deet spray and mosquito nets. Despite this, the first night in Siem Reap saw both of us bitten numerous times around the feet and ankles. Nothing we seem to do seems to stop the little buggers from biting either of us……so much for all the deterrents!
Besides the temples of Angkor there is not much else to see in Siem Reap other than to take in the charm and lazy pace of the place, but we fancied one more trip before moving on. This was the floating village of Chong Kneas. With the heavy monsoon rains not yet arrived in Cambodia (they were supposed to start in April) the rivers and the village were sitting on only a few inches of water. The village is made up of 40-50 platforms/boats which included schools, churches and shops. Being low season and early in the morning (our Tuk Tuk driver seemed to enjoy getting us up and out at ridiculously early times…Emma wasn’t happy!) we were the only people on the boat which was both a good and bad thing.
Its not a nice feeling being taken for a ride by the rich when you are trying to help the poor. You can see this a lot in Cambodia and that most of the money from tourists go to the very few and they are fleecing us blind. The poor stay poor whilst being photographed by the hordes of tourists. We left this trip not feeling great and realised that in some parts the tourists (us) are part of the problem.
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